Infertility Treatments: Is it Ethical?

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In this day and age several factors have changed the definition of a family. We live in a time where careers, education, and work are now put before starting a family, making it more difficult to have children. The traditional family archetype has changed with a rise in single and homosexual parenting. This change, even though it is a positive one, can result in several people being unable to have children. Infertility treatments have become a popular option for these people who cannot have children. These treatments have become popular in books, movies, and other forms which has brought attention to the ethics of the practices. The ethics of these treatments are challenged by the health risks on people seeking treatments and their potential child, the morality of how embryos are used in these treatments, and the costs of these treatments. Although these treatments have their medical risks, anyone should have the option to use these treatments because they are often the only way they can have a child.
Infertility treatments are various types of medicines and medical technologies that aid pregnancy. Some forms of medicines used to treat infertility include hormone injections, fertility drugs, and ovulation drugs. Fertility medications and hormone injections increases the chances of a person to get pregnant or impregnate someone by aiding in the release of hormones to regulate specific reproductive processes such as sperm production or ovulation. Technology based infertility treatments, or more commonly known as ART-technology (assisted reproductive technology), include in-vitro fertilization, artificial insemination, and embryo/zygote transfers. Artificial insemination is a procedure where sperm is placed inside the uterus. In vi...

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...e treatments should not matter because the gift of a child is priceless.
Altogether the practice of infertility treatments is absolutely necessary. Even though there are some possible negative effects from treatment and treatments can be pricey, nothing can be more valuable and precious than a child.

Works Cited

http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/Infertility/Index.htm https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/infertility/conditioninfo/Pages/art.aspx http://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/infertility.html http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/Psychological-impact-of-infertility http://www.sart.org/uploadedFiles/ASRM_Content/News_and_Publications/Ethics_Committee_Reports_and_Statements/fertility_gaylesunmarried.pdf http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/13/6/1502.short http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/22/6/1506.full

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